James Gunn on the Guardians of the Galaxy Becoming a Disney Theme Park Ride

Guardians' director on expanding the characters into theme parks and Avengers: Infinity War.

Who would have expected Rocket Raccoon to co-exist with Mickey Mouse? The ascension of the Guardians of the Galaxy from a cult property, filled with characters few were familiar with if they didn’t read comic books, to a giant, globally popular franchise has been amazing to behold. And now that has expanded even further with the Guardians getting their own Disney theme park ride at Disney California Adventure called Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout.

The guiding force of the Guardians rise has been James Gunn, who has written and directed both of the films (and is already set to return for a third installment). Gunn was also involved in Mission: Breakout, which includes most of the core cast from the film (including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista), in a very entertaining, exciting experience that finds you helping Rocket free his teammates from the Collector – as you plummet up and down an elevator, in a notably effective re-tolling of the building formerly used for Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

At the recent kick off event for Mission: Breakout, I sat down with Gunn to discuss what it’s like seeing his movie characters turned Disney theme park stars, and his continuing role in the Marvel comic universe.

IGN: You’ve had these huge hit movies now and that’s a big accomplishment, but is there something about seeing something you helped create now part of a Disney theme park that is almost a surreal, “I can’t believe this is happening,” thing?

James Gunn: I think the strangest thing is how normal it’s all become. But this was a lot of fun for me because I’ve been making movies for 22 years… Longer if you consider the stuff I did when I was young. I think of myself as being someone who loves my job and is passionate about my job, but like any job, it sometimes becomes like washing dishes. This was an opportunity to go and do something I knew nothing about, to be a beginner, to learn from the imagineers. It’s a whole different way of communicating. It’s not the same type of thing as making a movie. It’s a whole different type of storytelling. For me, that’s been a pleasure from the moment we started.

IGN: I grew up a Marvel fan and I loved Guardians of the Galaxy, the whole 1990s run, but if you asked me ten years ago, even after Disney bought Marvel, “Could Guardians of the Galaxy get a ride at Disneyland?”, that would not have been…

Gunn: [Laughs] I know, oh my god. I think if you told me when you first pitched Guardians of the Galaxy as a movie to me if they were like “Oh hey, this is going to be a ride in five years” I’d be like “what?” But it lends itself to it very well. It’s a lot fun, it’s a different way to experience the characters. It’s fun for me.

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IGN You were making Vol. 2 at the same time this was coming together. How much were you able to touch in with them, see what they were doing, and give your input on these characters you helped bring to the screen and how they should be depicted?

Gunn: A lot. I got the script early on, so I would go over the script and throw in a joke here and there, add some stuff. Drax is always a hard character for other writers to write so I deal with him a lot. Rocket is a bit easier but his voice is very specific so I helped with that. Then we took a day off in the middle of the [Vol 2.] shoot and I directed the actors for the stuff that you see. It was all done basically in a day, outside of the Benicio del Toro stuff and the Bradley Cooper recording. It was a lot of that and every couple of weeks they’d send me a cut or send me some art for something they were going to put in there. I’d come down here, ride the ride or see some stuff they were doing. I went to an early version of the ride where they first started to craft the ride, which was a fascinating experience. I guess I was a pretty big part of it. I don’t know what I’m called exactly, but a true consultant. I consulted every step of the way.

IGN: As we said, Guardians would be an unlikely movie franchise and a more unlikely theme park ride. With the finished product here, is there a sense of pride that you elevated these characters to a place where they are very welcome in the Disney atmosphere?

Gunn: Yeah, I think they feel at home here. For me, when they first said there was going to be a ride, I was excited about it but of course I’m like “let’s treat these guys right” and I didn’t know how big of a part of it I was going to be. Them saying “Come aboard and do all this” happened a few weeks later. I’m always very concerned with how the Guardians are treated and making sure that they remain true to themselves and that doesn’t matter what format it’s in whether it’s movies or TV or this. That was the most important thing from the beginning, making sure they didn’t denigrate what was done in the movies and that it was a way to grow from what the movies were.

Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout Queue and Ride Images

IGN: Not that you’re not getting looped in on what’s happening, but I imagine it will be interesting for you to see Infinity War, because you’re not directing the Guardians characters in that movie.

Gunn: I think my situation with Infinity War is almost exactly the same was what my situation with this is. It’s dealing with the characters, changing what needs to be changed, saying what’s being done well and checking in and making sure everything is going to plan.

IGN: When guys were promoting Guardians a few weeks ago, Kevin [Feige] said that he could see you in the future perhaps overseeing other aspects of Marvel’s cosmic universe beyond Guardians. Is that something you’ve talked to him about? Are there other things in the back of your mind you’d like to branch off on?

Gunn: We talk about it all the time. It’s already a part of what I’m doing with Marvel and the conversations that Kevin and I have every day. When we’re talking about Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and that story, that’s a story that will lead to other stories. It’s innate to the DNA that that’s the end of a trilogy but it’s the beginning of a whole other element of the Marvel Cosmic universe. That’s a part of what I’m doing now.

Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout Opening Event

IGN: I have to ask one specific on Vol. 2. When they’re going through all those portals, there are two creatures that are fighting. Are they anyone specific?

Gunn: They’re called Kronans, is what they are, and they’re specific characters. You might see them somewhere else in the future…

Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout is now open at Disney California Adventure.